Cobalt Team (On hold, infreqent updates after next chapter)
by Lighting wolf knight
Summary: Cobalt isn't a team that should work, they aren't like regular Spartans. But they work, and when the UNSC needs a team to turn the tide of war, they must team up with their rivals in Blue and Omega team. Rated T for death, profanity and violence. Somewhat follows Halo lore. Daisy x Liam. Next chapter is 800 words.
1. Deployment to Harvest

**Sup guys? Time for another story, this one about Halo. Enjoy the 1100-word chapter. I down own Halo, 343 and Microsoft do.**

 **(Harvest, 2531.)**

There were 5 figures aboard the D77-TC Pelican which flew towards the surface of Harvest.

They were soldiers, and not just any soldiers, but Spartan-IIs, all given Numerical Names rather then actual names, making them seem all the more inhuman.

The others were aboard their carrier ship and home….

They were Liam-077, Ralph-103, Joseph-122, Rose-144 and Daisy-023,

They were the Spartans of Cobalt Team, known to the UNSC as Wolf or Typhoon squad.

"UNSC _Retribution_ , this is Sierra-077, _Bravo 14_ is beginning final decent…. Permission to engage Covenant ground forces?"

Liam asked he looked through the troop bay at the _Retribution_ , the _Stalwart-_ Class Light Frigate which served as their Home Base and home in General.

"Permission granted, Sierra, good hunting… Kill some of those freaks for me."

Liam heard from the Commander of Retribution, Captain Dylon Barkus.

"First real mission since John got all the credit at Chi Ceti… We need to make this count…"

Liam heard from Joseph, the soft-spoken Sniper of the squad always did have a joke despite how most Spartans reacted.

"Perhaps… Ok, Daisy, you and Ralph are in charge of Evac for the Marines… Rose, Joseph, we are going after a Covenant Destroyer, the _Infinite Absolution_ … Damn, Covvies really are naming their ships weird names…"

Liam muttered, he crossed his arms and turned to the screen below him, his CQC expert and Second in command were going to be going on a ground op while he, his explosives expert and snips attacked a Covenant Destroyer?

He would question it, but he didn't want to, the Pelican had reached the ground, he signaled for Daisy and Ralph to exit.

"See you both back on _Retribution_ , Daisy."

Rose said with a smirk under her helmet, Liam turned to face her, all 5 Spartans weren't the same, despite all Spartan-IIs being a part of the navy, for Silver Squad, it was different.

Ralph was a Marine Lieutenant and growing in rank, Daisy and he were Navy, Rose was an Army Lieutenant, and Joseph was Air Force.

Liam cracked his neck, if it had been all of them, they would have drove the Covenant off Harvest within months, he crossed his arms, neither Spartan wore regular Mark IV MJNOLNIR Armor.

Liam for example, had modified his armor to be Blue and used a helmet that Commando Spartans would use.

He would look over the others armor in a second or so, he crossed his arms, his M6 Magnum clinked against his armor, he would have to check his gear one last time, the second they got aboard the _Absolution_ , he and his teammates would be alone, the _Retribution_ was only supposed to extract them and support them if necessary and then duck out of the system.

"See you back on _Retribution_."

Daisy said as she and Ralph vanished off the Pelican, Liam turned to Joseph to take the controls, he nodded and did so as the Spartan took his seat.

"So, game plan?"

Rose asked as Liam nodded and stood, he shook his head at the thought of having just sat down before he walked to the monitor.

"We're supposed to get to _Absolution_ through her gravity lift, ship is going to be offloading supplies and reinforcements… We get aboard, destroy the engines with C12, then exfil while the Destroyer eats ground… Any questions?"

Liam asked, this had been their first deployment with their armor, their first deployment against the Covenant and he didn't want his teammates to be caught off guard.

They weren't going to lose another Spartan on his watch.

"C12? We didn't bring a Havok or something? Last I heard, it took Chief 2 ANVIL-II-ASMs to destroy a Covenant Warship."

Rose said, she had always liked explosives, M9 Frag Grenades, Lotus anti-Tank Mines, M319 Grenade Launchers or the classic M-41 SPNKR, if it exploded, Rose often used it… Though Liam knew she was like a composer writing music if she had an explosive in her hands.

She still had her classic green armor but Liam had heard that the second more armor options came out for MJOLNIR, she and the rest of Cobalt would change it, besides her EOD Helmet.

She carried a M319 Grenade Launcher and a pair of M6D Magnums.

Joseph, who had stood out as one of the best snipers in the group, at least besides Linda-058, something that irked him, was never without his SRS99-AM Sniper, sat in his seat, his M7 SMGs clinked against his thighs.

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought this… Nah, should give the Covenant a fighting shot."

Joseph joked, all of Cobalt Team were jokesters, but Joseph tried the best to be the best jokester, that was what made him stand out besides his Scout Helmet.

Sadly, he stunk at it, but he was a good shot.

Liam, despite it being an army weapon, had chosen a M392 DMR, at least until a better weapon came along, his M6D clinked against his back.

"Ok, let's go."

Liam ordered as the Pelican set down, it would return to _Retribution_ and await their signal.

 **(Harvest surface.)**

Daisy fired her MA5B and gunned down a pair of drones before ducking back behind the ruins she and Ralph had taken cover behind.

"Damn it, I didn't think they'd put the EVAC point behind enemy lines…"

Ralph muttered, firing his MA37 and killing an Elite Ultra, he motioned for the squad of Marines to get to the evac point as he and Daisy covered them.

 **(With Liam.)**

Liam fired his DMR into a Jackal as Rose killed a group of Grunts with a grenade from her weapon.

She turned to see Liam finishing off an Elite Minor with his combat knife as the three Spartans started towards the gravity lift, they left a wake of dead Covenant soldiers in their wake.

"C'mon, we have a destroyer to take out… Daisy, you and Ralph good on your end?"

Liam asked as they stepped into the gravity lift, they wouldn't be able to talk to the other inside.

"Getting… There, going to need back up… _Retribution_."

Daisy reported on her end as the three Spartan were sucked towards the destroyer.

 **Author Notes**

 **Phew, first chapter done! Yes, I know it isn't perfect, first chapters aren't my thing… As for Silver Squad? I was watching Halo Legends and decided to make a story after seeing Homecoming… This story does modify Halo lore a bit. Next chapter will be on Sunday or later and will show all of Silver Team after the mission. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!**


	2. Return to Reach

**Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Cobalt Team. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I down own Halo, 343 and Microsoft do.**

 **(** _ **Stalwart-Class**_ **Light Frigate** _ **Retribution**_ **, Orbit of Harvest.)**

Captain Barkus watched the Pelican dip towards _Retribution_ , the _Solace_ begun its decent towards the planet.

It was joined by a second Pelican which angled towards its other hanger bay.

He didn't need to listen to the communications to know that they carried Cobalt Team and the Marines they had been deployed to evac.

"Ready Slipspace drive, set course for Reach and alert me if I need to stop somewhere else… We are done here…"

The Captain ordered before taking a seat in his bridge chair.

 **(** _ **Retribution**_ **hanger bay)**

 _Stalwart_ -Class Light Frigates were equipped with 6 Hanger Modules, each could launch or recover 1 Pelican each.

That wasn't on Liam's mind as _Bravo- 14_ and the other Pelican landed in the hanger.

"Cobalt Team: report to quarters, Slipspace jump to reach to commence, estimated 12 hours or more…"

Liam heard from the intercom, Daisy, Ralph and 6 Marines climbed out of their Pelican.

"Guess it's time to sleep before we get home… I call top bunk."

Rose said as Liam and the other Spartans walked towards their bunks.

Hayden, Elise and Sienna would be there, they were the only members of Cobalt Team that weren't deployed.

 **(Retribution, Bunks.)**

 _Retribution_ wasn't Cobalt's first home, and it probably wouldn't be their first home.

Their first home had been the _Epoch_ -Class Heavy Carrier _Olympus_ , they had spent a month aboard, they had deployed on an Anti-Insurrection mission.

Last he heard, _Olympus_ had either been destroyed in a battle against Covenant Forces or been placed on another patrol.

Their second and third homes had been the _Templar_ and _Siren_ , a Charon-Class Frigate and a Paris-Class Heavy Frigate respectively.

They had spent 2 weeks on the _Templar_ and 6 days aboard the _Siren_.

Liam wondered how long _Retribution_ would last. They had been picked up by _Retribution_ a few weeks ago and they were expected to be transferred to another UNSC Warship within a week.

That had been over 2 months ago for Cobalt Team, Liam crossed his arms as he walked into the bunks.

"About time you got back."

Liam heard from Elise and he walked to his bunk and placed his helmet into a case, he then walked into the other room.

"Be lucky you weren't on Harvest, Sergeant, its hell down there, anything the Covenant can't take, their burning…. Damned scorched Earth possibility."

Liam said, he walked back in, a UNSC Black shirt and Pants, which all UNSC soldiers used for night clothing.

"Harvest…"

Daisy said as she walked in. Due to ship accommodations and lack of space the Spartans slept in 'Pods' of 2 boys and 2 girls. Rose and Elise would bunk with Joseph and Hayden, Daisy and Sienna would bunk with Liam and Ralph.

To any other soldiers, they would probably make jokes or something or it might have bothered them. Cobalt Team did joke, they were teens or young adults after all, but they were a unit, a squad, a family, they had done this during training.

Besides, Spartans were trained to work as a team, this was just another exercise for them.

"We're save Harvest, Daisy… It just depends how much war the planet has to take before then…"

Liam muttered, he knew he was probably lying, if the reports he had heard were right, the Covenant would probably burn the entire planet before they let the UNSC reclaim it.

For Rose, who lived on Harvest, Liam knew that behind the snark and jokes, it hurt to fight here.

If it had been Reach… Liam would have screamed in rage…. But Reach was fine, it was there home… And it was personal to home as well.

"If they destroy Harvest, then there will nothing to stop the UNSC from tearing Harvest apart…."

Ralph put in, his voice sounded tired, drained, strange, given that Liam remembered Spartans having far more adrenaline then normal Humans.

Spartans were different from Humans, that was one of the last thoughts in Liam's mind before consciousness left him.

 **(Reach, Epsilon Eridani System.)**

It had taken 8 hours to travel to Reach, Joseph kept track of every hour, it took longer depending on the ship and Slipspace Drive.

Liam woke up to Daisy reading a book, Sienna was looking at a mission report, Ralph was cleaning his assault rifle, something Liam wondered if it was allowed aboard a UNSC Frigate. 

"Cobalt Team, report to bridge, ASAP."

Liam heard over the intercom, Liam didn't need to give orders to the rest of his team, they were already moving to get their MJOLNIR Armor on, Liam walked into another room like the others.

He didn't know if they would need their armor, or if they should have gotten their Dress Uniforms, but for Spartans… At the very least, their armor felt like the same thing.

"I feel like a truck hit me…."

Ralph groaned, Liam chuckled and looked at his friend.

"You said that before we boarded the _Comet_ … And that was 3 years ago… Or was it 4…"

Liam said in return as the quartet of Spartans exited their bunk, they had to duck down as the doors weren't made for the super soldiers in their armor yet.

He spotted Joseph, Rose, Hayden, and Elise coming out of their bunk as the four Spartans all walked to the elevator.

"You think the elevator can handle 8 Spartans?"

Liam heard from Hayden, Ralph turned to the tech expert of the team.

"Aren't you supposed to be the guy who knows warships like the back of his hand? It will fit, they have more than one lift to the bridge."

Ralph muttered as the lift opened, all of Cobalt Team piled in, the lift began to climb.

"Told you."

Ralph stated, the Elevator climbed towards the bridge as the Eight Spartans looked at each other.

"It seems we've returned home."

Hayden stated, Liam nodded and turned to the Spartan as they talked, the lift would reach the top soon.

"How long you think we will be stationed on the _Retribution_? We've been on a Heavy Carrier, a Frigate… 2, actually… Maybe next deployment we get to be aboard a _Halcyon_ or a _Halberd_ …."

Joseph asked, Liam shrugged, a Light Cruiser or a Destroyer? One reason Liam liked the _Retribution_ was because the ship was everything a Spartan needed…. Though there were things a Paris or Charon Class Frigate processed.

But the _Retribution_ was fast, able to drop off Cobalt Team and then retreat, it could offer them fire support if needed, and there were few ships Liam would rather be on.

Then again, there were better ships to chariot the Spartans…

The elevator hit the top and the 8 walked out, through a hallway and onto the bridge.

They stopped when they hit the bridge.

"CAPTAIN ON DECK!"

Liam heard as 8 snapped off a salute in sync, Barkus turned to look at them.

"At ease, Lieutenant Liam…. Glad Cobalt Team could join me… I've gotten specific orders by Highcom themselves to have you sent to Bravo 6…. Seems the good Doctor and the rest of Highcom want to debrief you themselves…. Bravo 14 and Echo 30 are yours…. I hope this isn't the last time we meet, Spartans, your one hell of a squad to lose."

Barkus stated, Liam and the others chuckled, if they were any other Spartans, they wouldn't have laughed at all, they would be stone silent at most.

"If the _Retribution_ ever needs backup, we're be on call, sir… Cobalt Team, time to head home…. If this is the last time, give the Captain one last salute!"

Liam ordered as he and the 7 other Spartans snapped off salutes and then left, they would get their effects, their weapons and depart _Retribution_.

"Been an honor to have you aboard if this is the last time, Lieutenant Commander… I might be calling you Commander next time we meet…."

Barkus said as Cobalt left to the lift. Liam frowned, they were some of the Spartans to be above Chief Petty Officer…. The reason Cobalt had been formed in the first place was because they had shown they could operate as more than just Special Forces.

"John would be shocked as hell if he saw us again, huh?"

Joseph asked as they reached the bottom, they split up to find their weapons, did so and then left to find the Hanger Bay.

"He's still on deployment if I heard right… If not, this is going to be awkward… You remember the first fight we had with Blue Team?"

Daisy asked, Liam chuckled, they had lost the second time due to John and Linda ambushing them.

The second time… John and Linda hadn't expected the stun grenades they had planted right near them.

"Liam… You remember Halsey?"

Ralph asked, Liam and Daisy froze up, Ralph cursed and climbed on _Bravo 14_.

"Had to bring her up…. She and Mendez turned us into this, Ralph…. We find her down there, it going to bring up memories I don't want to think about…"

Joseph hissed, Liam and Daisy climbed aboard as the Pelican was launched from _Retribution_ and towards Reach.

"Fleet is as big as I remember it…. I doubt even an entire fleet of Covenant Warships could break it…"

Rose stated, Liam counted each of the ships as the Pelican dived towards Reach.

152 ships, just like he remembered, 5 destroyers or more, 5 cruisers, 1 of Which was a _Valiant_ -Class Super Cruiser, 2 were Halcyon-Class Light Cruisers and 2 of which were _Marathon_ class- Heavy Cruisers.

That and dozens of other ships and 20 MAC stations besides _Stalwart, Paris_ and _Charon_ Frigates and _Trafalgar_ , the _Punic-Class_ -Super Carrier which was the pride of the UNSC Navy.

"Yeah… You shouldn't underestimate the Covvies, remember the security on that destroyer… It took us an hour to deal with that destroyer…. I actually thought Ralph got the easy job…"

Liam muttered, he made sure his DMR was attached to his back as Rose settled in to fly the Pelican.

"We're going to talk to the big bosses of the UNSC… Usually one of the Generals or Admirals gives us a mission… Not like this though…"

Ralph muttered, Liam was silent, the Pelican landed and the ramp began to descended.

"Cobalt Team!"

Liam heard, there were heavily armed Marines and ODSTs walking towards them, Liam and the rest of Cobalt Team did as well.

"Spartans… Figures…"

Liam heard from the ODSTs present.

Figures, Liam knew of the rivalry between ODSTs, and he had heard about what happened on the _Atlas_.

"Damn it, John, why did you have to piss off the rest of the UNSC…"

Liam muttered under his breath, the two Elite branches of the UNSC at each other's throats all due to John fighting some ODSTs…

"This way, Cobalt Team…"

Liam muttered, if they knew Ralph was a Marine Lieutenant, they might have been more lenient in their words.

Then again, at the heart of the UNSC, he didn't blame them for the military guards present around them.

"Lieutenant Commander Liam… Sergeant Elise, Lieutenant Rose, Chief Petty Officer Daisy, Lieutenant Ralph, Master Sergeant Joseph, Captain Hayden, First Lieutenant Sienna… Good to see you."

Liam heard, they turned and saluted, Vice Admiral Stanforth was standing behind them.

"Sir."

Liam said as he and the rest of his team snapped off saluted they had seen the Admiral… Vice Admiral, their tactics they knew about.

"Glad you could make it, Commander…"

 **Author Notes**

 **Phew, another chapter done! Yes, this skipped to the end of the missions Cobalt Team went on… Cobalt will change a bit of Halo lore… Like Daisy and Ralph survived Harvest…. There will also be some timeskips…. And plus, some backstory for Cobalt Team. Next chapter will be on next Monday and will show Cobalt Team being debriefed and meeting two special people, until next time, Lighting Wolf out!**


	3. Fallback Plan

**Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Cobalt Team. Enjoy the 2300-word chapter. I down own Halo, 343 and Microsoft do.**

 **(Epsilon Eridani System, Reach, 2531.)**

Reach HighCom was the home of the UNSC Security Council, the head of the military and the bosses of all of its soldiers.

These 5 looked down on the Spartans of Cobalt Team that sat in their dress uniforms, all looking at their commanders as they sat in the Amphitheatre.

"Cobalt Team, thank you for joining us…. And impressive work at Harvest."

Stanforth started the talk with, a blink was his reply, all eight were confused on their appearance, they were teens, but they were supersoldiers, they should be on the frontlines… Right?

"I understand many of you are confused… The reason you aren't slitting Covenant throats or destroying a Covenant Battlecruiser with a SHIVA Nuclear weapon isn't just for a debriefing… The UNSC and the Human race need your skillset…"

Vice Admiral Margaret Parangosky started out saying, Liam looked at her.

"Ma'am, we were assuming this would be a simple debrief… It sounds like a Black-Op Assignment?"

Liam asked, General Hogan of the UNSC Marine Corps spoke up at this.

"Lieutenant Commander, you are correct…. Or should I say, Commander… There will be more promotions besides that…."

The General stated as Liam and the other Spartans looked at each other in confusion before General Strass of the UNSC Army spoke up.

"What General Hogan is trying to say is because of Harvest… And because of doubts in the UNSC… Small doubts, but still doubts, we've evoked this council to debrief you on 2 assignments… One a regular assignment… The other…"

Strass said before the last of the Council, General Dellert of the UNSC Airforce took over.

"Which could change the course of the war."

He said as the Spartans looked at each other, the war with the Covenant had only started 6 years ago.

"Sir?"

Hayden asked as Stanforth took over, they were confused, the council should have known this, they had come back from what they thought was a routine assignment only to find out the fate of the war could rest with them…

"I'll take over the rest…. Liam, there is a slight chance Humanity could lose this war… If we did, Humanity wouldn't exist… As a result, Operation White and Red Flag have been cooked up."

Stanforth stated before tapping a few buttons on a tablet, instantly a screen behind the Vice Admiral and the rest of the council lit up.

"Commander, Humanity isn't faring well, while you and Spartans like you… And the brave soldiers of the UNSC Army, Air Force, Marines…. While you are a hell of a fighting force on ground, in space… We can't match the Covenant punch for punch…. You saw what the freaks are doing to Harvest…. Hence, Operation White Flag is for you…. Operation Red Flag is for Sierra-117 and the rest of Blue Team…."

Stanforth explained, all of Cobalt team shared looks at this, they all knew the Covenant were unstoppable in space, that's why Cobalt Team had been assigned to destroy the Destroyer over Harvest.

"Our estimates calculate by 2552, Humanity will be forced to Sol…. If we have to dig in at Earth, it will be our last stand, Son, that's something I don't care to let happen at all… White Flag calls for Cobalt Team to infiltrate a high-ranking Covenant Flagship…. And either take it to the heart of the Covenant Fleet to capture high value targets…."

Stanforth started before Margret finished, her eyes cold as she stated the words.

"Or to detonate a Nuclear yield that will vaporize the Covenant Fleet, its leadership and Home planet…"

She stated, another look from the Spartans before Daisy spoke up.

"You'd send us on a suicide mission…."

She said softly, Margret was silent before Stanforth looked Liam in the eye, Liam was a jokester, and the Spartans of Cobalt Team were nothing like the others in the UNSC Military.

It was for that Stanforth believed them the best hope… The only Spartans who acted like that were Spartan Black and Spartan Grey.

"Commander, it is a fall back operation…. You will not execute it until 2545 if it comes to that… Certain technological breakthroughs are being made and it would be suicide to even attempt the op without these upgrades…. But you and your team have been selected due to your skillset…"

Stanforth stated, Liam nodded, General Hogan cut in after this.

"Commander, details of this assignment… As well as your next deployment are in your quarters… You are not to disclose details if this mission to anyone…. If you are clear on this, then this debrief is over…"

The Vice Admiral said, Cobalt Team rose, they were dismissed then.

"Your next deployment is in 3 weeks, Commander… _Retribution_ will be your home for 1 month and then you will be reassigned a permeant home and vessel… Dismissed, Commander."

The Vice Admiral stated as the Spartans snapped off salutes and left.

"So… I guess we got a new job and we got promoted… Hmmm…"

Ralph said as the eight walked outside, there was a M831 Warthog waiting for them outside.

The Spartans climbed in, Daisy took the wheel, Liam the shot gun and Ralph, Joseph, Hayden, Elise and Sienna climbed into the roll cage.

"Wish this was a Mongoose or 2 Warthogs… Or a Falcon…."

Ralph muttered as the Warthog began to pull away, Joseph turned to look at the Spartan.

"An UH-144 Falcon or a M12 Warthog? Or a M274 Mongoose? It wouldn't even fit us all, Ralph… Unless you want to get out and push the damn thing."

Joseph said as Ralph rolled his eyes and looked at the sniper.

"When'd you get so damn technical? I thought that was Hayden's job."

Ralph muttered, Liam turned to look at Daisy, she had always felt at home in her armor, he'd barely seen her out of it since Halsey had assigned them armor.

"3 weeks is basically shore leave…. Why the hell couldn't we just go back to Harvest?"

Rose asked, Liam turned as Hayden sighed, Harvest would probably be a graveyard by the time the Covenant let the planet go.

"Rose, we can't go AWOL, Admiral wants us to rest and get ready for redeployment, that's what we do…. Its protocol."

Hayden stated as Liam rolled his eyes and turned to face the 2.

"And when the hell did you start following rules, Captain? You'd still be a Corporal if Admiral Stanforth hadn't stopped the court marital at _Independence_."

Liam said and Cobalt chuckled at this, they hadn't even gotten their MJOLNIR Armor by then and Hayden had to break formation to save the V.I.P… At the cost of the intel HighCom had wanted.

Daisy pulled up to a military camp and the Marine MP at the gate motioned for them to pull in as the Spartans arrived at a small concreate complex.

It would be their home for 3 weeks, they walked inside and each found their rooms, which also had their MJOLNIR Armor, their personal effects, their weapons, and a pair of clothing.

"Check your datapad before we get settled in."

Liam ordered as he grabbed his and sat on his bed to read.

"Seems I was promoted to First Lieutenant…. And this says I'll make Captain before the year is done."

Joseph said as he looked up from his datapad, Liam smiled at the Air Force officer.

"Major… Seems the Army has a new officer."

Hayden says as Liam rolled his eyes, he'd rather Daisy or Joseph as his second in command.

"Captain."

Rose said simply, Liam nodded at the Army Officer, he turned to Daisy, Elise and Siena.

"Captain."

Elise stated as the Air Force officer took a seat.

"Captain."

Sienna said as the Marine Spartan took a seat as well, that left Daisy and Ralph.

"Captain… Damn it."

Ralph muttered as he set his Datapad to the side, that left Daisy then.

"Lieutenant Commander… Personal promotion from Admiral Stanforth himself…. He promoted us for the operation so we shouldn't have to tell our commanders of the mission…."

Daisy read, this caused t others to look in shock, Ralph and Joseph smirked, Elise looked at Daisy in surprise, sienna looked at Liam and Hayden looked shocked.

"Guess Daisy is the second in command of Cobalt… Sorry, Hayden, Admiral just gave Liam a new right hand."

Ralph said with a smirk before the Major turned to look at him.

"Hmm… Seems our next op will take us to Arcadia… Covenant laid siege to it… Captain Cutter drove them off."

Liam read as all Eight Spartans kicked off their shoes and sat in a semi-circle on one bed, it creaked but held their weight, Liam suspected Stanforth was the cause for this.

"I heard Omega was down there… Spartan Red Team as well…"

Joseph stated, Ralph turned to look at the Air Force Spartan in surprise.

"Bullcrap! No way Jerome served their! Planet is way too damn remote."

Ralph argued, Liam scrolled down his datapad, it appeared his sniper was right.

He was surprised to see that John and the rest of Blue Team weren't assigned a mission… Which meant only one thing.

"John is here…"

Liam said softly, 7 heads swung to face him, Joseph turned to look him in the eye.

"John as in '117' John?"

He asked, Liam nodded and then continued scrolling through the Datapad.

One perk of being an officer is they gave you more information than your subordinates.

"Our next two pieces of information, is that we will be stationed aboard the…. _UNSC Pillar of Autumn_ …. Hmm, a _Halcyon_ -Class Light Cruiser…. Guess the _Retribution_ will have to part with us… The second piece of info is that some of the military upgrades we are getting is possible shields to the MJOLNIR Armor… Hey, Ralph, guess you won't have to worry about getting killed in one shot anymore."

Liam joked before his stomach grumbled, the others began to laugh before they heard the same, Liam rolled his eyes.

It had been 12 hours since they had eaten last, Spartans or not, even a Supersoldiers could get hungry, it wasn't like fatigue effected a Spartan.

"Permission to go to the mess hall, Commander, sir?"

Joseph asked as Liam nodded and motioned for the group to leave.

"It ever surprises you how far we've come from just being…. What we used to be?"

Liam heard from Joseph and he shrugged, he didn't question most of his life, he was a soldier… A different breed of soldier, but still a soldier.

"Not really, surprises me more that we don't get deployed often, if Spartans and ODSTs are the best soldiers the UNSC can throw at the Covenant on dirt, why not in orbit too? We could take a Covenant cruiser and turn it into a homemade bomb, I don't see what's keeping us tied down so much…"

Liam stated as they entered the mess and were silent after what they saw.

"Is that?"

Ralph asked as Liam's hands balled to fists and clenched without him noticing.

Siting on the other side of the room, were Spartans, Spartans the entire UNSC knew very well.

"Blue Team."

Daisy put in as Linda noticed them and make a hand motion in their direction, Liam saw 4 four rises in unison and began to make their way, Liam and Cobalt moved and met them halfway.

"Master Chief…"

Liam grunted out, he still remembered training with the man in front of him, it brought up bitter memories for him.

"Sir."

Master Chief said, so that meant Chief knew about his promotion.

Hell, what didn't Blue Team know about?

Blue Team formed up behind John and Cobalt Team behind Liam as both Spartans refused to break eye contact, as if doing so was an insult to the other.

"John, Liam…. Linda, Kelly, Fred, Joseph, Sienna, Daisy, Hayden, Rose, Elise, Ralph… Good to see you again."

Said a voice that caused all 12 Spartans to freeze and turn.

"Dr. Halsey, Ma'am."

Fred said as she stood in the door to the mess, all 12 looked at her as she walked in, she was soft to them, kind, caring.

Liam hated it, at least Halsey being so familiar with them, and Halsey knew it.

She also knew she shouldn't be so casual with them, they might have been her Spartans but she wasn't their mother or leader, and she knew some Spartans resented her for calling them by their names rather then serial numbers or rank.

Cobalt happened to be one of those teams…. Not that they hated her to death, but that meant little to their dislike of her.

They watched her cross over to them, all 12 towered over the doctor as Liam and John looked at her.

"Dr. Halsey."

Liam stated, it was simple, brutal and toneless, there was no hate nor love in his words, she turned to the others of Cobalt Team who nodded and saluted.

"I see your busy with the war…."

Dr. Halsey put in, a nod was her answer, Liam motioned for Hayden to get their food so he could talk to the others

He turned and looked at his team around him, they were silent, as was he, he didn't know he would bump into both John and Halsey on Reach.

This was going to be a LONG day.

 **Author Notes**

 **Phew, another chapter done! Yes, I know I've done 3 chapters in 2 days, I wanted to get this story going… As for Operation White Flag? It isn't designed to be like Red Flag…. As for Liam meeting John and his attitude towards Halsey? I will explain that soon, next chapter is in 3 weeks. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!**


	4. Decisions and Reunions

**Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Cobalt Team. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I down own Halo, 343 and Microsoft do.**

 **(Epsilon Eridani System, Reach, February 10, 2531, 3 Weeks before Cobalt Redeployment.)**

Halsey knew all of her Spartans, she knew them like the back of her hand… She went through a quick mental note of the Spartans in her head.

Spartan-077, Liam Tribune, the commander of Cobalt… And the heart of the team… Also, the tallest.

Halsey knew the Spartan Commander from his quick movements and quicker thinking, the Jade eyed, Black haired boy was from Harvest.

Halsey knew he still had reservations about John due to a few failures in boot camp… He had still made an expert leader due to his ability to adept to a situation as it evolved.

And he disliked her familiarly with him due to his appraisal of the other Spartan-IIs as family.

Joesh-122, the sniper of Cobalt… One that rivaled Linda-052… If his bad joking had been swapped for more training.

He had always been a jokester compared to the rest of Cobalt…. That made him stand out as much as his black hair and yellow amber eyes.

He was still one of the more unmatched Snipers in the UNSC… Halsey wondered if one day he would surpass Linda.

Ralph- 103 the Brown haired, Brown eyed assault expert of Cobalt… And the most aggressive.

Haley had seen an impressive amount of disregarding orders and such… Stanforth probably cleared him of these…. He was the one Liam usually fought with… No one on the team was better at assault missions then him.

Hayden-042… The tech expert and the only stickler for rules on Cobalt… The Purple eyed, red haired, Fair Skinned Spartan was known for his cautious movements and more prone to being eloquent in his words.

Liam didn't approve of his lingo… But he helped the team as much as the others.

Elise-046, the heavy weapons expert of the team… And the fouler mouthed and route of the team.

She was as gung ho as the weapons she used… And yet her blue dyed hair and Orange eyes showed a fair daintier personality…

Sienna-092, the medic of the team… And yet one that seemed much too keen on details for a Spartan… Her Brown hair and Sliver eyes showed she had an eye for tactics.

Rose-062, the explosive expert of Cobalt and the fiery one compared to Ralph.

Her red eyes and fiery red hair held deep passion… And deeper sorrow for her home of Harvest.

Halsey wondered if she would be ok after that.

Daisy-023… The CQC Expert of Cobalt and the soul of the team.

Halsey knew she had organized the breakout with Joseph, Ralph and Liam, she was cleverer then she looked… And she was Fred's match on CQC…. She was as close to Liam as Joseph and Ralph were.

Her blonde hair and blue eyes helped her stand out.

"I got the food."

Hayden said as he returned, Liam took his from Hayden and the others did as well… Eager to escape the situation.

"Dr. Halsey… Good to see you again… Cobalt, to the tables."

Liam ordered and Cobalt moved, Halsey watched them go before turning to John.

"Is the Commander ok, Ma'am?"

Kelly asked and Halsey nodded, she broke her gaze with the Spartans.

 **(With Cobalt.)**

Daisy looked off her knife and turned to Liam who sat next to her.

"She stopped watching us…. What's the next mission, Sir?"

Daisy asked and Liam glared at her, she smiled a bit more now.

"Liam."

She corrected as Liam nodded and brought up his datapad and tapped a few keys on it.

"We have 3…. First is an Insurrectionist Military base on the moon of Venezia…. The second is another Orbital Op, CCS-Class Battlecruiser, _Unyielding_ _Penance_ …. Charming… The third… Is to recover a V.I.P at… Sargasso…."

Liam read, Daisy froze up before Liam placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Dai… It will be fine…. Joseph, I want you to make sure our gear is ready for redeployment… Ralph, I want to make sure we are trained for redeployment…"

Liam ordered as he continued to eat, he knew what Sargasso meant to Daisy, he would need to make sure a Condor or Prowler was ready if they were picking up and escorting a V.I.P.

"Anyone else hope we don't have to…. Never mind..."

Liam crossed his arms after he started to speak, the longer the military unit was on Reach, the more his doubts stewed in his head.

"I wish we were on Harvest… Popping Covenant heads with a sniper… Nothing better than that… Quick and simple…"

Joseph stated, Liam nodded and finished off his food before wiping his mouth.

"Yeah… But we need time to prepare… Admiral Stanforth told me after these 3 missions we are free to assign our own as long as they are vital to the war effort…. We also won't be staying on _Retribution_ any longer if you forgot…. That means we have to say good bye to the Captain…."

Liam put in, he longed to have his DMR in his hands, looking down the scope…. Killing the enemy and making sure the UNSC was secure…. It wouldn't be as long as the Covenant existed.

"Yeah, shame about _Retribution,_ she was a fine ship to serve on… Wonder if the captain really will miss us…."

Hayden put in, Liam shrugged, it was a ship to him… Not that he wouldn't be sad, Liam had been fighting ever since he was a teen… This would be just another assignment to him.

"You heard Covenant got kicked off Arcadia? Omega and Red team forced them off the Planet…. _Spirt of Fire_ broke that siege…."

Hayden put in, Liam raised an eyebrow at this, Covenant forces were beaten back by the UNSC?

Damn, the UNSC actually could win this war.

"Yeah, but we will have to Clean up stragglers… We all know the Covenant are going to have to try and take the planet… I heard there's a crashed destroyer on Laconia… We are going to have to mop that up…. We are going to be dealing with battle after battle after deployment…."

Joseph stated, Liam chuckled at this and turned to look at his sniper.

"Hey, we're soldiers…. This is what we do, Joseph…. I want to get back to war, the longer we sit here, the longer we have to sit and let UNSC soldiers fight in our place… At least Reach is secure…. The longer we sit here… Longer we can't be Spartans…"

Liam said as he rose from his seat and started to walk towards the door.

"I'm going for a walk… If you need me, I'll be in the park."

Liam said before he left, Cobalt looked at each other, Daisy excused herself.

"Back to barracks when your done, Hayden, you and Ralph are in charge."

Daisy stated before she left, she didn't want to be in her dress uniform first, Liam had probably gone for a run.

And the Park was a place only the Spartans understood, it would be part of their training.

 **(Forest, 2 miles from UNSC complex.)**

A 'walk' meant different things for Spartans.

To Liam, it meant training, he leapt from tree to tree, trying to reach the next branch faster and faster, he didn't wear his dress uniform and instead wore a simple blue jacket and pants, if he was going to be any less formal, he would have worn the same style of uniform he had as a teen.

"Liam."

Liam heard as he landed in a crouch in an oak tree, Daisy was below a tree near him.

Liam remembered that tree, they had been instructed to climb the same tree… Without rope.

Needless to say, Daisy had improvised… With her combat knives.

The oak was marked with nicks and cuts from her knives, Liam turned to look at her, she wore a simple red jacket and a brown pair of pants. Her Blonde hair was also down, framing her face.

It reminded him of when they had run away from Halsey as teens.

"What's new, Daisy… How did you know I'd be here?"

Liam asked before he leapt down to land in front of her, he was 7.2Ft, she was 6.10Ft.

"You always used to go here when your annoyed… What's wrong?"

Daisy asked, her voice was soft, just like it had always been, Liam looked around, the rest of Cobalt wasn't present, so she had ordered them home.

"Nothing… It's nothing, Daisy."

Liam said, Daisy was silent, for someone who could slit throats in a second, she was always quiet.

And it terrified many UNSC soldiers, even ones under her command.

"This about Reach possibly being destroyed, isn't it?"

Daisy asked, Liam grunted, Daisy was good at being direct, whether it was in Combat, or when she talked to someone.

"I…. Yeah… Yeah…. Damn it…"

Liam said as he rubbed his temples in annoyance, he really didn't want to have this talk though.

"It's the same as it's like Sargasso, Daisy…. If the Covenant show up in orbit, even one cruiser… We know it's going to take several ships to destroy it… I want to be back on the frontlines… There I know I'm doing… Here… The longer we stay on Reach, the longer we are out of the fight… They trained us to be soldiers…. So, waiting like this isn't my cup of tea…."

Liam said as he looked up at the sky, no older soldiers but Spartans would be able to see the UNSC fleet overhead.

"I've been trying to figure out Sargasso's V.I.P… He's Navy, probably an Admiral…"

Daisy said as Liam hummed, that was odd but made a sort of sense, Sargasso was remote, out of the way, the Covenant would never be able to find it…

"Ask Admiral Stanforth, he'd know…. I'm wondering what the mission to Taro… That moon has been under Covenant Siege for 6 months and it isn't part of UNSC Space… We're going to be fighting Covenant and Insurrection troops… An army of both… And all for some Nukes."

Liam said, he and the other Spartans had killed Humans, he knew it was for the greater good and he knew they were trying to kill the UNSC… What bothered him is they still tried to kill UNSC soldiers despite the war… The war was against Humanity and they couldn't unite against Covenant forces?

"HighCom is manufacturing everything they can to fight the Covenant…. Nukes are one of the most effective weapons we have against the Covenant in space… Plus Taro has been on the UNSC hitlist for years… They just didn't have the soldiers to take it…. If they'd sent in ODSTs, there's no saying we would even get the nukes back…"

Daisy explained, Liam nodded and both turned around, Liam turned to Daisy as they walked.

"See if you can get Admiral Stanforth to speed up how long till we get deployed… If the nukes are priority one for HighCom, then we should tackle them first… The _Penance_ can wait and we can recover the V.I.P right after Taro… But we might need a prowler for that…"

Liam said, Hayden and Ralph are the only ones on Cobalt who would like the downtime… And they could spend their off time on the _Autumn_.

"Yes, sir…. Should I also inform whoever is in charge of the _Autumn_ that we will be arriving soon?"

Daisy said with a smile on her face, Liam nodded and the two began the walk back.

Liam couldn't wait to see the look on the others faces.

 **Author Notes**

 **Phew, another chapter done… Yes, I know I've been going through chapters like crazy, this story is hard to step away from… As for the part where Halsey ran through Cobalt at the beginning? It was to give a look into the team… Next chapter will be in 2 weeks and will show Cobalt on their mission on Taros. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!**


	5. Rebels and Covenant

**Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Cobalt Team. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I down own Halo, 343 and Microsoft do.**

 **(Orsos System, Tiro, February 11** **Th** **2531.)**

Liam aimed down the scope of his M392-DMR, braced the weapon and fired once, twice, three times.

Three dead Insurgent soldiers, Joseph looked down the scope of his SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle and fired, an Elite Major was cut down, Joseph scanned the area, then inserted a fresh clip of 14.5x114mm rounds into his weapon with a satisfying _Clack_ , the APFSDS rounds were growing on him.

"This line is clear, Commander, moving to ridge for a better shot…. Has to have been the sixth skirmish line we've come to in 40 minutes."

Joseph stated, Liam motioned for Ralph and Sienna to move up, he dropped the basically empty magazine and put another case of M118 Full Metal Jacket Armor Piercing Rounds.

"Yeah, planet has been under siege by the Covenant for months like I said… Anyone told _Retribution_ we are here yet? Admiral Stanforth made this our last joint op."

Liam asked as he stepped over the dozen or so dead Insurgent soldiers and scanned the battlefield.

"Damn… Place looks like they burned it all…"

Liam stated, they had been dispatched via _Winter_ -Class Prowler to Tora, Liam found the intel he had hadn't been entirely accurate.

The place was under siege, but there was Insurgents and Covenant troops all over the place slugging it out.

Liam had reported this to Admiral Stanforth and he had stated that he'd personally be leading reinforcements which would pick them up.

Liam hoped they weren't fired upon… The entire system was crawling with rebel soldiers.

"Rose, clear the next line, Elise, Sienna, cover the flank…. Radio silence only, keep the talk to a secure line…. Insurgents still think it's just them and the Covenant here…"

Liam said, they'd been slowed down by 40 minutes… Liam wondered if they waited long enough both sides would just wipe out the other and they could sweep in to clear out the stragglers.

But that would take far too long and Liam knew the longer he waited, the longer the Insurrectionists might move their weapons.

"Another wave… I see a compound ahead, matches the ones we saw on the way in…"

Hayden said as he lifted his BR55 and fired at a squad of Grunts which an Elite was leading, the died with puffs in their heads before the Elite turned and hefted a Plasma Rifle at them.

Daisy leapt from the tree she was in and landed on the alien, before he could blink, Daisy had already stabbed the alien in the neck with a combat knife.

It was dead in seconds as Daisy holstered her knife and moved in, her MB5 searching for enemies before Daisy holstered the weapon and drew her M45TS Shotgun.

Liam remembered she had started with the M90 CAWS model… Maybe she was switching it up.

Sienna had a M7 SMG, she moved up to the next line and took cover, trying to make sure they were covered.

Rose hefted her M319 Grenade Launcher, despite this being a simple op, she also had brought a M41 SPNKR as a 'sidearm'.

Liam didn't have the time to tell her to bring it and he had found that humorous.

"Looks like the Rebels are still fighting in orbit."

Joseph said, Liam looked up, amidst the groups of Phantoms and Pelicans, were a collection of former UNSC Frigates and a few cruisers fighting 2 CCS-Class Battlecruisers and a CAS-Class Assault Carrier.

Liam couldn't tell which side would win but Joseph was right, the Insurrectionists were holding their own.

"8 more Phantoms… And a battalion of Insurgents at the main gate…. Wait, picking something up…. These are United Front troops, sir."

Joseph put in, Liam and the rest of Cobalt moved up, he looked through the scope of his weapon.

Liam could see Joseph was right, these were indeed United Front Insurrectionists fighting against the Covenant, they also looked like they were mixed with the same troops he heard UNSC Marines encountered on Harvest and Arcadia.

"Thought John and the rest of Blue Team captured Colonel Watts and took them out."

Ralph said before the Phantoms offloaded their troops, Grunts, Jackals, Elites and 2 Hunters.

"Guess they got a new boss, Ralph… Rose, take out the Hunters, Joseph, I want you targeting the officers… Don't engage till we do, we get spotted and they could ship the Nukes off or scorch Earth on the base…."

Liam said, he motioned for Cobalt to engage, they had one chance to get those Nukes back.

Stanforth had deployed Cobalt because no other team could handle this mission, and Cobalt would see it down.

Liam gave the motion to fire as he aimed down his DMR.

The result was amazing, Grunt after Grunt went down from headshots from Liam, an Ultra Elite who had been commanding the assault was cut down from 2 shots from Liam, splitting his head in 2.

The Jackals, who had been focused on the Frontal assault, crumpled and died from fire from Ralph, Daisy, Sienna and Elise.

The Hunters had time to turn and fire one shot in return before the rockets Rose fired at them sent them to hell.

Liam ducked as the shot sailed over his head, missing his skulls by a few centimeters as the shot slammed into a tree and tore it apart.

"Damn…"

Liam said before he looked up and blinked in annoyance, every Rebel at the front gate knew they were there.

Whelp… To hell with Stealth then.

Liam reloaded his DMR, leveled it and fired at the first Insurrectionist.

 **(5 minutes Later.)**

Daisy pulled her combat knife out of an Insurrectionist before dropping the Rebel to the ground.

Around her were 8 dozen dead Insurrectionists and half that in Covenant troops laying around Cobalt as Liam reloaded his DMR.

"Damn…."

Liam stated as Cobalt finally started stepping over bodies, Liam looked up to see a Covenant Battlecruiser come crashing down with 3 frigates with it.

"We have to move, now."

Ralph said as Liam silently agreed with the Spartan Captain, the longer they took to reach the Nukes, which the Rebels probably had to know about, he had seen one yell into his radio before he had been killed.

"Ralph, you and Sienna, you make sure those Pelicans never reach orbit…. Rose, you and Ralph are on Nuke duty… Everyone else covers them, every rebel on this base is going to come onto us."

Liam ordered, if they didn't move quick enough, the Insurrectionists could either move the Nukes, or make them as good as scrap.

"Liam, I got eyes on more Phantoms, and Insurrectionist troops are rallying at the main gate… Getting ready to push, they have Warthogs and Scorpions…. Might actually push the Covenant back."

Joseph said, Liam motioned for Cobalt to move, even if the Rebels pushed the Covenant back, they could just burn the planet from orbit… Not something Joseph could predict.

"Blasted…."

Liam said as he fired a few rounds from his DMR, the trio of Grunts dropped as a Scorpion turned and fired at Liam, it was too far away to do much damage but it forced Liam to roll out of the way as a squad of Warthogs charged them.

"Frags!"

Liam said as 12.7x99mm armor piercing rounds ripped up the path ahead of them as Liam pulled 2 M9 Frag Grenades off his belt and tossed them at the hogs.

1 was spot on and this threw the Warthog to the side and crashed it, the other 3 gained on the Spartans as a 40mm Grenade landed in the Midst of the LRVs, shutting them down.

Before the gunners could react, 3 headshots killed them.

"Thanks Joseph, you got a reading on the Nukes?"

Liam asked as Liam and Sienna took C12 towards the Pelicans, if they were lucky, one charge would hit ammo and destroy them.

Rose sent a few rockets from her launcher and the Pelicans erupted into scrap.

Liam and Daisy looked at the explosive expert with shock as she dropped the empty launcher and brought up her 319M Grenade Launcher.

"Can't waste time, longer we wait, longer we give the Insurgents to deal with the Covenant and take the nukes."

Rose said, her voice was cold, anger laced.

Liam nodded, he turned and looked at the Rebels at the main gate, they were getting slaughtered by Brutes.

"Joseph, get back to the Prowler, everyone else to the main complex, that's where the Nukes would be."

Liam said as the other Spartans moved towards the main complex.

 **(United Rebel Front complex.)**

The main complex was deserted, the main officers had either been killed or retreated.

the few guards that remained were quickly killed by Ralph and Daisy.

Liam made contact with _Leviathan_ , Joseph reported that their prowler had retreated on ONI orders.

Hayden found a few files in the main computer, not much of anything major, as they had been scrubbed but a few ONI would want.

"Commander, what's your team's status?"

Vice Admiral Stanforth asked, Liam could hear Covenant warships engaging the fleet… But they didn't have the firepower to match Battlegroup Leviathan.

"Just securing the objective now, sir…. The _Specter_ left, we're trapped here."

Liam asked as Rose finished stuffing the Nukes into a duffel back, she made sure they were real and gave a thumb up to Liam.

"We're sending a Pelican about half a click to your position, Commander, we've routed the Covenant fleet but they've got reinforcements on the way… I'll debrief you on the _Levi_ myself, thank you commander."

Liam heard and the 7 Spartans made their way outside, there was dead Rebel and Covenant soldiers all over the place.

Joseph roared up in a Warthog, Liam climbed in the shotgun as Joseph nodded at 3 more Warthogs.

"Let's go."

Liam said as the trio of Warthogs roared out of the base, leaving the Rebels and Covenant troops to fight to the death.

 **(5 minutes later.)**

" _Leviathan_ , this is Delta 15, Cobalt team onboard, inbound in 5 minutes."

Liam heard as the Spartans around him cracked their backs and relaxed, Liam looked around.

"Another op… Next one is going to Sargasso… This is going to be a long war…"

Ralph said as he cracked his neck, Liam rolled his eyes, when was Ralph not grumpy at times?

"Least it isn't one like this… Taro isn't going to last another 2 hours, if they were smart, would have pulled out when they had the chance. "

Sienna said, Liam doubted that, Sienna was the best medic he had ever seen, but her observations weren't always the best on Military matters.

"At least we weakened the Rebels and Covenant… They lost a few ships and dozens of troops and assault vehicles… Same for the Covenant."

Joseph said as he cracked his arms, Liam rolled his eyes.

"You only fired like a dozen or so shots, Lieutenant, we were engaging every troop we ran across…"

Liam shot back as Joseph held up his hands in mock surrender before Liam turned back to Daisy.

"Thanks for that Elite, I wouldn't have been able to kill it in time before you did, Dai."

Liam said as the Pelican began to land, Daisy simply nodded as the doors on the back opened and the 8 Spartans hopped out.

"We need to head to the war room."

Liam started to say before the Admiral in question walked towards them.

"Good to see you, Spartans."

The admiral said as all 8 Spartans tossed up salutes.

 **Author Notes**

 **Phew, another chapter done! Ok, last chapter until 2 weeks after this…. As for why Cobalt Team easily defeated the Covenant and got the job done? It was a combo of the fighting between Rebels and Covenant, and because of how the Spartans were trained… Next mission will take place on Sargasso and will show a slightly upgraded Cobalt. Until then, Lighting Wolf out.**


	6. VIP

**Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Cobalt Team. Enjoy the 1200-word chapter. I down own Halo, 343 and Microsoft do.**

 **(Sargasso, 2531, May 3** **rd** **.)**

the _Wendigo_ was one of the few _Winter-class_ Prowlers in the UNSC Navy, and it was one of the few ships that actually was the perfect warship for the job.

"So… Guess this is your homecoming, eh Dai?"

Liam asked, he made sure his 392DMR was on his back securely.

"Yeah…"

Daisy said as she adjusted her MA5B, despite this being a simple escort mission, Cobalt had made sure they had their weapons.

They were Spartans after all, fighting was in their blood.

"The V.I.P is waiting at the landing port… UNSC Marines are bringing them to us, sir."

Hayden said, Liam, along with Ralph, and Daisy stood at the ramp.

Joseph and Sienna, Elise, Rose and Hayden were in charge of making sure they landed.

The _Wendigo_ put down on the ramp and the Spartans were about to step down when a voice rang out.

"Commander, so glad you could make it."

Liam heard and he and Daisy and Ralph snapped to attention the second this happened.

Standing at the bottom of the ramp was Admiral Terrance Hood, the rest of Cobalt snapped off salutes from the top of the ramp as well.

"At ease, Spartans…. I'm just aboard to travel to Reach…"

Hood said as he moved aboard and Liam snapped his fingers at Hayden, the Spartan nodded and moved to take off.

"What the hell is Admiral Hood doing at Sargasso?"

Hayden asked before Ralph elbowed the officer, Liam and Daisy marched to the passage section and took seats on either side of Admiral Hood.

"You don't need to do this, we won't be long, soldier."

Hood said as Liam nodded, he cracked his neck as _Wendigo_ lifted off before vanishing into Slipspace.

It wouldn't take more then 3 hours, not with the Slipspace Drive of a _Winter-Class Corvette_.

"I know, sir, just making sure…. HighCom never told us you were the V.I.P…. I thought it would be an ONI officer or a Rear Admiral…."

Liam stated, if Stanforth died, he heard they'd naturally replace him with either Cole… Or Admiral Hood.

"Sir…. What caused you to travel to Sargasso?"

Daisy asked, the speakers of her armor betrayed nothing, Liam however, saw that her fists were constantly clenching and her foot tapped every few moments.

That meant she was either disturbed or curious on something, Daisy was one of the few Spartans in the group that Liam understood.

"Finalizing plans for UNSC troops to be deploy to Sargasso… It will be invaded eventually…. Commander, I've heard a lot about Cobalt…. Like the operation at Tyro a few weeks ago…"

Hood said as Daisy and Liam shared a look of shock, only the top brass in HighCom knew of OPERATION: Nuclear Winter.

"Damn fine work…. I'm sorry to say the _Absolution_ mission has already been handled though… If you were trying to handle all 3 targets…. Last mission Grey Team handled before they went MIA."

Hood said as Liam and Daisy were once again speechless, Liam didn't know what to say.

"Grey Team wasn't seen in the last 3 months ago… Thought they went dark…. If our mission is scrapped then Admiral Stanforth is going to need to assign us a new one…."

Liam said as he got up, he turned on his team comm and spoke into it.

"Ralph, you watch Admiral Hood…. Hayden, best course to Reach, this isn't vacation time for us…."

Liam ordered as he heard a grunt and a groan from his soldiers before Ralph walked in and stood besides Hood as Daisy got up.

If Ralph was guarding Admiral Hood, then there was no reason for her to be guarding him.

And in Slipspace, they were in danger… Not unless they dropped out by accident or crashed into something.

But if it came to that, then getting into danger was the last of their worries.

"I'd get some sleep, commander, you and your squad look like they've seen better days."

Hood said, he wasn't entirely wrong…. Liam and the rest of Cobalt had been ordered to target a Zealot right after their operation on Tyro, followed by a 2 hour debrief before they were allowed to sleep.

Chalk that up with the op where they had to deal with an Insurrection Cruiser with HAVOK nukes aboard just last week and Liam was ready to call it a day.

"That an order, Sir?"

Liam asked as he and Daisy stopped in the doorway, their MJOLNIR Armor shone in the doorway.

Liam had to thank whoever had installed the upgrades to their armor, better components, more advanced gear…. And his personal favorite, the prototype shields they had made…. Although, he heard it would take 20 or so years to fully perfect the tech.

"I shouldn't have to make it one, soldier…. Even Spartans need to rest."

Hood said before the doors closed, leaving Liam and Daisy in the other part of the _Wendigo_.

Wasn't that the truth…? Liam looked around, he should be awake to make sure nothing happened to the ship.

But they were heading straight to Reach, not under orders to stop somewhere and engage Covenant or Rebel forces.

That sealed it.

"Admiral is right… Daisy, you're in command… Wake me up 30 minutes before we get to Reach…"

Liam ordered before ducking into another room reserved for Crew, he would sleep in his armor if he could…. But he had never adjusted to it…. It didn't feel right to do so….

"I pray to… Someone that Admiral Stanforth doesn't find out that I did this…."

Liam said before he removed his armor and laid down…. He chuckled before he got to pass out.

"Damn Hayden…."

Liam muttered, the Admiral wouldn't tell, and his team wouldn't rat him out… Besides Hayden… But Daisy and Ralph would keep him in line.

 **(Reach, 2 hours, 30 minutes later.)**

Daisy knocked at the door before Liam answered.

"In a minute, Daisy…. Thank you."

Liam said before he walked out of the door before they walked to the bridge.

"Admiral Stanforth is waiting for us at HighCom HQ…. He doesn't have much for us after that…. Blue, Black and the rest of the Spartans are already deployed he said… Guess its back to waiting at barracks."

Daisy said as Liam nodded, he didn't want to wait for more missions, but it was what they were given….

"Then we get to _Pillar of Autumn_ , that's where we were assigned, its where we go next."

Liam said as he crossed his arms, the _Wendigo_ still hadn't arrived at Reach, he crossed his arms in annoyance before turning and walking back to the ramp

They were going to be fighting soon enough…

 **Author Notes**

 **Phew, another chapter done! Yes, this is the last chapter for now, I don't want to keep writing chapter after chapter when I said I would wait before writing next chapter… Also, next chapter will have a time skip of a few years…. This story is going to take place past Reach. Next chapter will be in a few weeks. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!**


	7. 13 Years of war

**Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Cobalt Team. Enjoy the 1600-word chapter. I down own Halo, 343 and Microsoft do.**

 **(Miridem, 2544.)**

Liam killed two Elite Minors as he ducked to avoid a blast from a group of T-26 Banshees forced him to duck down.

"Damn it, any members of Cobalt still fighting?!"

Liam asked as he saw Ralph fire his M37 Assault rifle and killed a squad of Jackals.

"Here sir, Joseph and Daisy as well!"

Ralph asked as Liam cursed, the battle for Miridem was lost, the entire UNSC fleet had been routed for the most part, most of the citizens they had been deployed to retrieve were either gone or killed.

"Doesn't mean we can't slaughter a battalion on our way out…"

Liam muttered, Cobalt, who were deployed alongside over a dozen M9 Wolverine AA Vehicles and UNSC Marine detachments.

"Lost count of how many Covenant I've killed, Captain… Just keep shooting, the Covenant will leave soon enough…."

Liam said, another group of Grunts, Liam killed them with his DMR before an Elite Ultra charged at him.

Liam ducked a swing before he unsheathed his combat knife, he scrambled up the Sangheili's back, digging a knee into the soldier's back to force him to his knees.

He slammed the knife into its throat as it crashed to the ground. Liam looked over to see a squad of Elite Majors, Minors, Grunts and Jackals charge them.

Liam drew his M6C Magnum before a hail of bullets and explosives cut off the Spartans. The Covenant platoon dropped dead.

He looked up to see Joseph, Daisy, Hayden, Sienna, and Elise above him, their guns were smoking as they dropped into the trench.

"And that makes nearly 300 of the freaks… Rest of the Covvies are retreating…. Blue Team is getting redeployed."

Joseph said as he cracked his neck, Liam turned to look at him, he looked to see T-26 Banshees fleeing with Spirts and Phantoms fleeing.

"The hell? They were just pushing our line hard as anything…. Why are they pulling out?"

Liam asked as all 8 Spartans shared a look.

"Dr. Halsey…."

All eight said as they turned back to BL-9400493, the Black Cat Prowler which was supposed to take Dr. Halsey away from the planet.

"Hoof it to the Prowler, Cobalt, let's see why the Covenant bugged out when they were burning this planet to ash."

 **(5 minutes later.)**

They found nothing… But a body in front of them.

The body of a Spartan…. Sheila-065 to be precise.

"Dr. Halsey…. Covenant must have captured her and then bugged out… That's why Blue Team was being redeployed…"

Hayden said as Ralph picked up Sheila as a Pelican came in to pick them up.

"Sienna… See what killed her… Ralph… If she has to be buried, do it… If not, take her to the Pelican…"

Liam said, he turned to a piece of Banshee and punched it so hard his fist slammed through the Banshee like a piece of paper.

"God… Da-… Not another one…"

Joseph said as the Pelican landed, Ralph carried his fellow sister in arms aboard as the rest of Cobalt moved to board the dropship.

They had driven the Covenant off… The Colony was lost, but there were still survivors...

But the death of another Spartan? This was going to hit them harder then anything else.

 **(UNSC** _ **Pillar of Autumn)**_

Sheila had been sent to the _Avalanche_ , the Marathon Class Heavy Cruiser Which Vice Admiral Berlin Tursk had been using as the flagship for the UNSC Fleet over Miridem.

Ralph wanted to argue but it wouldn't do him any good, Liam had recently allowed the Admiral to have his fellow Spartan II, right after the Spartans had payed her the respect all Spartans gave each other.

"13 years and we've been losing so much I'm starting to think the damn freaks will slaughter us down to the last before long…"

Joseph said as the 8 Spartans said from the Hanger Bay, Liam took off his Helmet, he barely even remembered how many colonies they had left.

He ran an armored hand through his black hair, his eyes looked around the hanger as he set his DMR besides the crate he was sitting on.

"And after Admiral Cole… Damn…"

Liam said, he and Cobalt had altered their armor majorly over all these years.

Liam wore Blue Mark V… Or what he heard was the prototype of the armor, the Commando variant, a variant he was learning to love, he now had several cuts from close fights with Covenant Elites.

It hadn't dulled his spirts, but he frowned remembering what happened to Sheila.

Daisy now wore the Crimson colored Mark V version of CQC, her blonde hair had grown and was now kept in a ponytail… It did still frame her eyes, she wore her key chain in a pouch holster.

Liam had also grown closer to the Lieutenant Commander, he liked that, she was still quiet but preferred to work with Daisy due to missions...

Ralph wore Emerald Operator Armor, Liam had seen Ralph become more aggressive and bitter as the war had gone on, he couldn't tell if the slaughter of Covenant soldiers Ralph carried out was a result of Mankind losing the war or to get more kills.

He kept his eye on him, he didn't want him to turn into rose.

Elise wore Violet Air Assault armor, Liam had raised an eyebrow at that, but the medic for the team hadn't told him why.

She had patched them up more times then he cared to remember over those 13 years…. But Elise had hardened over the years… She wasn't the girl Liam remembered.

Rose wore Silver Grenadier armor, Rose had slaughtered every Covenant soldier he saw, he was surprised that she hadn't cracked, she had been on half a dozen psych evaluations due to how aggressive she was on the field.

Sienna wore Black Air Assault armor, she had become more adaptive of using heavy weapons and used the newest UNSC heavy ordinance in the field.

He hadn't learned what Hayden liked to wear as MJOLNIR went but his was brown. He had become more solemn as the war went on.

Considering what they had seen below, he couldn't blame him.

Joseph used Scout MJOLNIR which had been colored a bright shade of green, Liam had seen him try and figure out if Recon or Scout was more worth it.

"So…. Guess OPERATION: White Flag is going to be executed now…. 13 years since Harvest and we still haven't won this war yet…. Damn it…"

Joseph said as Daisy sat next to Liam, he turned to look as her as she pulled her helmet off and put it next to her side.

"We haven't found a carrier or cruiser which we can use…. I wish we've been sent on the op with Blue Team, at least it would get our mind off this crap…. We've been pushed back, seen mankind burned to ash over and over…."

Liam stated, he hated seeing Spartans die, Sheila was just another loss to add to the growing pile of bodies for Mankind.

"Longer this war goes on…. This is what happens when we lose heroes…."

Ralph said as Daisy put a hand on Liam's shoulders, he turned to look at her.

"We can't blame ourselves…. Cole wasn't something we could stop, we've fought every battle and won all we could…. We can't beat the Covenant in space…. But we can defeat them on the ground."

Daisy said softly as Rose pounded the crate in anger.

"Yeah, well the longer this damn war goes on, the longer I wonder if anything we do makes a damn difference at all! We killed hundreds of soldiers here alone and yet they still kill a Spartan and run off with their damned tails between their legs!"

Rose hissed as Liam frowned, that was becoming common with him it seemed.

"Rose, we aren't space soldiers, we can't just board every Covenant Warship, sabotage the reactor and then bug out…. Daisy is right, we've been doing everything we can do…. It just hasn't been enough… Now we are needed on the bridge, we are going to return to Reach soon… Long as we have Reach, we haven't lost the damn war yet…. Make sure to update me if we have another mission on the way."

Liam said before he picked up his rifle and helmet and slipped it back on, he walked towards the door at the other end and vanished.

"He took what happened at Kholo badly…."

Daisy said as Joseph nodded, they had also found out about a new Generation of Spartans named as the Spartan IIIs.

Cobalt was apparently going to have a few of the more better ones join Cobalt's ranks…. Liam still hadn't decided on how he felt about those Spartans.

"You can't blame him, over 150 ops since the Harvest battle…. The longer and longer we fight, the more colonies we lose… The longer this damn long war goes on… And we can't keep sustaining loses… I'm going to the bridge… Meet me and the commander when you can."

It wouldn't be long before the war ended.

 **Author Notes**

 **Phew, another chapter done! Yes, I know I skipped far into the war and all that…. I wasn't going to do the war year by year up till Reach and then Earth… As for why the Spartan IIIs and MJOLNIR V exists so early? I will explain it next chapter. Next chapter will take place next, next week and will have Cobalt be going on another mission.**

 **PS: As for the guy asking to make a stop motion of Cobalt? You can, I just hopes its cool and I don't see your channel…**


	8. Mission to Arcadia

**Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Cobalt Team. Enjoy the 800-word chapter. I down own Halo, 343 and Microsoft do.**

 **(** _ **Pillar of Autumn**_ **, 2544.)**

Daisy messed with a combat knife as Liam loaded his DMR, their Pelican _Delta 32_ was being sent to handle the colony of Arcadia…. The planet, which had since been evacuated, was now being used as a Covenant staging area.

Cobalt was going to make sure the Covenant never got the chance to strike.

 **(Arcadia, 20 minutes later.)**

Daisy stabbed the Elite Ultra under the neck and he dropped dead, Liam and Ralph scanned the area as they moved up to the next building in the area.

"Joseph."

Liam said as Joseph's SRS99C-S2 AM sniper fired, killing 2 Brute Minors as Liam killed a squad of Jackals with headshots.

"Third squad we've run into since we made planet fall…. I don't like this…."

Liam said as Daisy finished off another Elite and let the body drop, their mission was to bring down a Covenant Battlecruiser which the Covenant were using to drop off supplies and troops for their ground bases.

"Make sure that HAVOK is still ok… We can't bring down a battle cruiser with just explosives."

Liam muttered as he swung his DMR around, a squad of Elites and Grunts walked around the corner, Liam sighted on the Grunts and signaled Joseph to fire on the squad of Covenant soldiers.

One of the Elite Majors fell to the ground before the other turned to look around as 3 of the Grunts fell to the ground.

"Now…"

Liam said as he fired and another 3 Grunts fell to the ground as Joseph fired and the other Elite fell to the ground.

Liam was just about to reload before 2 T-44 Phantoms and a squadron of T-26 Banshees came down from the cruiser.

"Damn it, get to cover!"

Liam ordered before blasts of plasma began to rain on them as Liam rolled to cover before Rose fired her M41 SPUNKR at the flock of Covenant aircraft.

Both hit Banshees, showering the air with debris and then rained down on the Phantom, clanking off its armor as the other 4 Banshees split off… Another squadron and 20 more Banshees and 4 more Phantoms joined them.

"Damn it…. _Pillar of Autumn_ , this is Sierra-077, requesting Air Support, danger close… The Covenant have cut us off here…. We need anything you can give us…"

Liam put in as 4 Hunters and a few squads of Jackals, Elites and Grunts began to pour from the Phantoms as Rose fired a Grenade from her M319, knocking out 4 of the Banshees and causing them to crash into 3 more which slammed into the ground.

"Sierra, we are dispatching one squadron of Longsword fighters for backup…. Be advised, if we cannot take out the cruiser with a ground op, _Autumn_ is allowed to use nuclear ordinance at close range…. We can't give the Covenant a foothold here, Commander… We have to make sure that cruiser never breaks orbit…."

Liam heard as he cracked his neck and fired his DMR, killing 4 Jackals as he saw Daisy snap the neck of an Elite as it tried to gut her with its energy sword before she turned and bisected 2 more.

"I understand, sir…. Might also want to send in evac as well, we might be cut off for good and I doubt that Cruiser is going to let up on us anytime soon."

Liam heard, he looked up and saw the Hunters turning to fire at him before they exploded.

"Roger that, Commander… I'll make sure, to allow you and the rest of Cobalt to watch the fireworks from Orbit…. Besides, we just spotted Covenant reinforcements on their way…."

Liam heard as the broadswords fired on the Phantoms, destroying them as they fired their weapons on the Banshees, knocking them out of the sky as well.

"Roger that, Cobalt, this is our getaway car, let's get aboard…."

Liam ordered as Pelican blasted through the carnage as Liam saw MAC rounds blasted at the Cruiser.

"Now that's beautiful..."

Rose said before the Pelican landed as Liam and Daisy followed by the rest of the Spartans climbed aboard as the Pelican began to break for orbit.

"Ok… I guess this was a pretty screwed up op…. Covenant must have found out about the op… We are going to have to regroup."

 **Author Notes**

 **Phew, another chapter done! Yes, this is the last… Semi last chapter, I won't say when next chapter is but this is last chapter for now…. I won't be able to keep up with updates for this story for the most part… Anyway, I want to thank those who like this story, I will try to return to this story down the road… Until then, Lighting Wolf out!**


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